Saints enter tourney with 18 straight wins

Published: Monday, March 4, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 1:27 a.m.

Limestone's women have won a remarkable 18 straight basketball games. Three more and they head to the Division II national tournament.

Facts

Tip time changed

No. 1 seed Limestone's first-round game in the Conference Carolinas women's basketball tournament against No. 8 seed King College on Tuesday has been changed from 7 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Timken Center. A possible semifinal game on Friday would still be played at 7 p.m. The league's championship will be played at 2 p.m. Sunday at the site of the highest remaining seed.

The Saints (24-2, 21-2) are regular-season champions and No. 1 seed of the Conference Carolinas tournament, of which each game they play will be at home in the Timken Center.

“We feel very good,” Limestone head coach Corey Fox said. “Our kids have been looking forward to this for the last few weeks. We're excited to get to the conference tournament. We're really happy we can be at home. That's an important factor.”

Limestone is 14-0 at home this season, winning by an average of 24.9 points. The closest two games were decided by six points and the other, by nine, came against Tuesday's 5:30 p.m. opening-round opponent, No. 8 seed King College. The Saints had a 16-point lead at the half and appeared to be cruising.

“They made a nice run at the end,” Fox said. “We got up 18 and we kind of felt like the game was over. Well, it wasn't over. King has some tough kids and they have a lot of fight in them. They made a run at us and actually had the ball, down only three points, at the end of the game.”

Limestone won the regular season and tournament championship last season as well, advancing to the national event. The Saints lost, 77-68, to No. 24 ranked and fourth-seeded Lander in the opening round in Aiken.

This time around, Limestone is led by a trio of experienced seniors. Stephanie Hayes (Lower Richland High School), who missed the nine-point win against King, averages 15.1 points with 5.8 rebounds and has 115 assists, 31 more than her turnovers. Maria Young (T.C. Roberson in Asheville, N.C.) leads the scoring with 15.3 per game. Tia Williams (Dacula, Ga.) averages 13.8 points and 5.2 boards.

“Everybody in our rotation is a returning player,” Fox said. “This is the culmination of hard work that we've put in for the past four years and even the year before that in recruiting.”

Limestone takes the third-most 3-pointers among league teams with the fourth-best accuracy (32.6 percent). The Saints are coming off a game in which they made a season-high 16 of 30 from beyond the arc in a 94-72 win at Lees-McRae.

“In Tia, Steph and Maria, we feel like we have three great shooters on the floor at all times,” Fox said. “And our point guard, (sophomore) Morgan Brown has a great skill at finding which one of them is open.”

Limestone's only losses this season came in back-to-back games, Dec. 15 at Newberry (67-63 in overtime), and Jan. 3 at Queens University in Charlotte (78-58).

“We're really proud of what we've accomplished,” Fox said. “But, hopefully, we can play our best basketball now.”

<p>Limestone's women have won a remarkable 18 straight basketball games. Three more and they head to the Division II national tournament.</p><p>The Saints (24-2, 21-2) are regular-season champions and No. 1 seed of the Conference Carolinas tournament, of which each game they play will be at home in the Timken Center.</p><p>“We feel very good,” Limestone head coach Corey Fox said. “Our kids have been looking forward to this for the last few weeks. We're excited to get to the conference tournament. We're really happy we can be at home. That's an important factor.”</p><p>Limestone is 14-0 at home this season, winning by an average of 24.9 points. The closest two games were decided by six points and the other, by nine, came against Tuesday's 5:30 p.m. opening-round opponent, No. 8 seed King College. The Saints had a 16-point lead at the half and appeared to be cruising.</p><p>“They made a nice run at the end,” Fox said. “We got up 18 and we kind of felt like the game was over. Well, it wasn't over. King has some tough kids and they have a lot of fight in them. They made a run at us and actually had the ball, down only three points, at the end of the game.”</p><p>Limestone won the regular season and tournament championship last season as well, advancing to the national event. The Saints lost, 77-68, to No. 24 ranked and fourth-seeded Lander in the opening round in Aiken.</p><p>This time around, Limestone is led by a trio of experienced seniors. Stephanie Hayes (Lower Richland High School), who missed the nine-point win against King, averages 15.1 points with 5.8 rebounds and has 115 assists, 31 more than her turnovers. Maria Young (T.C. Roberson in Asheville, N.C.) leads the scoring with 15.3 per game. Tia Williams (Dacula, Ga.) averages 13.8 points and 5.2 boards.</p><p>“Everybody in our rotation is a returning player,” Fox said. “This is the culmination of hard work that we've put in for the past four years and even the year before that in recruiting.”</p><p>Limestone takes the third-most 3-pointers among league teams with the fourth-best accuracy (32.6 percent). The Saints are coming off a game in which they made a season-high 16 of 30 from beyond the arc in a 94-72 win at Lees-McRae.</p><p>“In Tia, Steph and Maria, we feel like we have three great shooters on the floor at all times,” Fox said. “And our point guard, (sophomore) Morgan Brown has a great skill at finding which one of them is open.”</p><p>Limestone's only losses this season came in back-to-back games, Dec. 15 at Newberry (67-63 in overtime), and Jan. 3 at Queens University in Charlotte (78-58).</p><p>“We're really proud of what we've accomplished,” Fox said. “But, hopefully, we can play our best basketball now.”</p>